Mrs. Adelaide Anno-Kumi, Chief Director for the Ministry of the Interior, launched the 2022 Annual National Fire Safety Celebration in Accra with a call on all to be conscious of fires in the country and adhere to the fire safety protocols by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in order to save lives and properties.
She said in addition to the physical dangers fire poses, it takes a tremendous emotional toll on people and their families and that losing one’s home and treasured possessions by way of fire is traumatic and ought to be avoided.
The weeklong celebration, which is on the theme “Safer Environment, Key to Investment’, aims at educating the public on the causes of fires in the country and how they can be prevented to protect lives, properties which will go a long way to attract business into the country.
Mrs Anno-Kumi stated that over the years GNFS has put in a lot of efforts to help minimize fire outbreaks and their effects by way of educating the public against unsafe practices that are likely to cause harm to lives and properties. She said fortunately, those efforts are beginning to yield some results as seen in the latest update of fire statistics
The Chief Director said Government has initiated action to retool the Service for better service delivery. She therefore commended the performance of the Chief Fire Officer and his officers for their good work. She urged them to continue to press harder and impress upon the public through awareness creation until GNFS set target of eliminating avoidable fires in the country are achieved.
The programme for the celebration included launching and quiz completion on fire safety issues between some selected schools, float throughout the principal street of Accra, inspection and education at selected locations, open day at all Fire Stations and simulation exercise at selected institutions.
The Chief Fire Officer, Mr Julius Kuunuor, said ensuring fire safety is a collective responsibility and that fire is no respecter of person, age, religion or social status. He urged all to take fire safety very serious and join GNFS to participate in the celebration in order to be educated on fire safety.
